Caught in the Act! Chinese Spy Pleads Guilty After Running Secret NYC Base!

A man accused of running a covert Chinese police station in Manhattan has pleaded guilty to working as an illegal foreign agent. Chen Jinping, 60, admitted in a Brooklyn federal court on Wednesday that he secretly acted on behalf of the Chinese government to target dissidents in the United States. His admission could lead to up to five years in prison, according to federal prosecutors.

“I knowingly agreed to act as a foreign agent, for a foreign government,” Chen told Judge Nina Morrison through an interpreter. However, when asked directly which government he represented, he initially dodged the question, vaguely replying “the government.” Only after further prompting did he admit to working for China.

The clandestine police station, which prosecutors say occupied an entire floor of a building near the Manhattan Bridge in Chinatown, came under scrutiny in September 2022. Chen confessed to removing an online article about the operation at the request of his handlers in Beijing.

“At the time I did this, I did not inform the attorney general that I was acting as a foreign agent, and I was not registered as a foreign agent,” Chen admitted during the proceedings.

Chen’s arrest, along with his alleged accomplice Lu Jianwang, 61, came in April 2023 as part of a federal crackdown on Beijing’s influence operations within the United States. The duo reportedly established the covert outpost in early 2022 to aid Chinese security officials in tracking dissidents living in America, according to court documents.

Prosecutors revealed that Chen and Lu tried to erase their communications with a Chinese Ministry of Public Security official once they realized they were under investigation. Despite these efforts, authorities uncovered their attempts to conceal their actions.

US Attorney for the Eastern District Breon Peace highlighted the case as evidence of a broader effort by China to undermine American sovereignty. “This prosecution reveals the Chinese government’s flagrant violation of our nation’s sovereignty by establishing a secret police station in the middle of New York City,” Peace said in a statement.

Peace emphasized the importance of holding foreign agents accountable, stating, “Chen’s guilty plea reflects a priority of our office to counteract the malign activities of foreign governments that violate our nation’s sovereignty.”

Lu Jianwang’s case remains pending as Chen awaits sentencing, scheduled for May 30, 2025.